Microsoft adopts invisible mobile pitch

Microsoft will pitch Windows Phone 7 as the handset you don't use all the time, highlighting how people disappear into their current handsets and miss out on the real world.

Redmond is already spending a lot of money promoting Windows Phone 7, which is expected to launch in a month or so, and now it has an angle too - Microsoft will sell you the phone you don't need to use:

The narrative might be almost comical, but there is some truth to it - most of us will recognise at least one of the scenarios in the ad. Microsoft reckons it can help users avoid them by presenting everything important on the home screen - glance interfacing. So one can give a better impression of interacting with one's children while still keeping up with the office, a glance at a time.

That also means constant connectivity, which in turn requires (effectively) unlimited data and impacts battery life, but neither of those should be a problem for the corporate executive who'll likely be Microsoft's the first target.

Redmond is putting a lot into Windows Phone 7, and working hard to find some differentiation in an increasingly commoditised market - one can imagine the marketing meeting that decided that the status screen is the killer feature, and how to promote that. It will be interesting to see if the public agrees. ®